


This Place is a Shelter

by oiyukis



Category: Magi: The Labyrinth of Magic
Genre: Canon Compliant, M/M, non-sexual nudity
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-11-05
Updated: 2014-11-05
Packaged: 2018-02-24 06:14:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,158
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2571119
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/oiyukis/pseuds/oiyukis
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When Judal seeks out Hakuryuu’s company, he never knocks.</p>
            </blockquote>





	This Place is a Shelter

**Author's Note:**

  * For [truptutupta](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts?recipient=truptutupta).



> This was supposed to be smut. It’s not. For truptutupta who wanted a story where someone acknowledged Judal’s obvious beauty since no one in canon seems to. [Title Song Here](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_N_Ck1KcAEo).

Hakuryuu is reaching for his robe when the doors to his room are forced open. He has just enough time to step behind the changing screen, peering around the edge in anger and indignation. Who would have been let into his rooms at this time of night in such a manner?

“Hakuryuu!”

Well. Yes, Judal would.

When Judal seeks out Hakuryuu’s company, he never knocks.

“Judal!” His voice comes out squawkish, despite his intentions to appear chiding.

“Oh?” Judal drops his hands to his bare hips. His expression twists, and Hakuryuu can’t call it anything but a _leer_. “Is this a bad time?”

“ _Clearly_. What are you--?”

Judal moves towards him, resting one hand on the top of the screen and leaning against it. Hakuryuu stands his ground if only because he’s gotten used to Judal cornering him these days, but he makes sure the bunched-up robe covers the important parts.

Under Judal’s gaze, Hakuryuu feels picked apart. It’s bad enough that he’s shorter than Judal, so the magi is literally looking down at him, but Hakuryuu. . .

Well, he’s never more aware of his scars when Judal looks at him like this.

It isn’t that he’s insecure. Rather, Hakuryuu has lived so long with the scaring that he rarely thinks about it. If he doesn’t like what he sees in the mirror, it’s of little coincidence. Judal makes things more complicated. His eyes have a way of piercing through Hakuryuu like nothing else, intentional or not.

It doesn’t help that Judal is beautiful.

It certainly doesn’t help that Judal knows he’s beautiful.

Beauty isn’t a concept Hakuryuu spends a lot of time on, but he feels it’s easy to put Judal into that category. It’s an otherworldly beauty, though. His eyes are too sharp, his skin too smooth, and his voice too beguiling. Hakuryuu can’t say whether it’s a magi trait—Aladdin certainly never affected him like this—but Judal has it in spades.

Next to Judal, Hakuryuu feels like a. . .like a rusted blade in comparison to new steel. It’s not the best analogy, but Hakuryuu isn’t a poet.

“ _Oi_ ,” Judal drawls, leaning closer. His eyes never stray from Hakuryuu’s.

“What?” Hakuryuu snaps, holding the robe a little closer.

“You were saying?” Judal reminds him.

“You were the one that came here,” Hakuryuu counters. “I’ve told you before to knock. Go over there.” He uses his free hand to point away from the screen.

“Why?” Judal folds his arms.

“I-.” Magi or not, sometimes Hakuryuu feels like he’s dealing with a needy child. “I’m changing!”

Before Hakuryuu can blink, Judal pulls the robe away and saunters toward the bed.

“ _Judal_!”

“I don’t see why you’re so concerned.” He flops back on the bed, stuffing the robe under his head like a pillow. “You don’t have anything I don’t have.” He pauses. “Right?”

“ _No_!” Hakuryuu stays behind the changing screen, not wanting to prance around naked in front of someone else. In front of _Judal_.

Judal waves his hand and makes a noise, as if his actions are justified.

“Judal.”

Suddenly, Judal sits up. “Why?”

“I’m naked.”

“I know,” Judal’s tone dips into something too quick for Hakuryuu to pinpoint. “Why does that bother you?”

“It would bother any normal person!”

“You aren’t a normal person!” Judal retorts. “You’re my king, and I’m your magi.”

“So it’s fine?” Hakuryuu asks dryly.

“Exactly!”

“I disagree. Robe.”

“Is it because of the scars?” Judal asks.

Hakuryuu doesn’t mean to freeze at the question, but it’s so blunt that he can’t help it. Judal is hardly considerate, but everybody skirts around the issue of the scars. It’s a surprise, after so long, to process the question.

It’s also not entirely unfounded.

“Judal—”

“I don’t care about your scars,” Judal crosses his ankles, leaning back on his palms. “If anything, they’re a testament to how befitting it is that you’re mine.”

“. . .your king candidate,” Hakuryuu corrects quietly, to which Judal shrugs. To him, it might be the same. “How?”

“Destiny. Fate. Whatever you want to call it.” Judal leans forward, eyes shining. “It spurned you. It dealt you a bad hand. Still, you survived. Your scars show that.”

Hakuryuu bites his tongue. He doesn’t think anyone has ever described them quite like that, and from Judal of all people. . .

“You aren’t going to cry, are you?”

“I don’t cry!”

Judal hums, not convinced. “You’re a strong person, Hakuryuu. That’s why I want you to be king.”

“But I wasn’t your first choice.”

“So?” Judal feigns a yawn. “It’s my job as a magi to have a lot of choices, as fallbacks. You’re my current choice. That’s what matters.”

“Your final choice,” Hakuryuu adds. “You won’t need a fallback.”

Judal grins, wide and a little edged. He crooks two of his fingers, waving Hakuryuu forward.

Hakuryuu hesitates, but eventually he moves forward, keeping his hands folded awkwardly in front of him, doing his best to save his decency.

When Hakuryuu is close, Judal reaches out and grabs his waist, tugging him forward. Hakuryuu stumbles forward, nearly yelping when Judal uses the momentum to roll them over, pinning Hakuryuu stomach-down to the bed.

Hakuryuu flushes as Judal cups his jaw, forcing his head up so their eyes can meet. Judal’s other hand is resting just shy of Hakuryuu’s chest, fingers pressing hard against his ribcage. Judal’s knees weigh heavily on each side of his, snug against Hakuryuu’s bare skin. It’s incredibly intimate, if not too intimate, and the flush in Hakuryuu’s cheeks darkens.

“I told you what I think,” Judal says. “Your turn.”

Hakuryuu blinks, casting aside his embarrassment. “What?”

“What do you think of me?” Judal’s lips quirk. “I’m strong, right?”

“Yes.” He replies easily because it’s true.

Judal hums, satisfied. Hakuryuu doesn’t know if that’s all the answer he’s looking for, but his next words tumble out before he can stop them.

“You’re beautiful.”

Judal pauses, surprise flickering in his eyes. Hakuryuu wants to congratulate himself for finally surprising the magi, but he’s too embarrassed. He shakes his head, freeing himself of Judal’s hand, and stares down at the mattress.

“I mean--. Aesthetically speaking--. I suppose you’re. . .”

Judal moves, sliding his hand down Hakuryuu’s back to rest at his tailbone. His other hand makes fast work of the clips in Hakuryuu’s hair, tossing them to the side. “I think,” he says softly, or softly for _Judal_ , “you look nice with your hair down.”

“You don’t have to—”

“I’m not.”

Judal removes himself from Hakuryuu, reclining on the bed. “I’m going to make you king.” Judal says, and it sounds like a vow. “We’ll kill Gyokuen, and anyone else who tries to stop us. We’ll conquer the world.”

Hakuryuu folds his arms under his chin, turning his head so he can watch Judal. “I’d be satisfied so long as that woman is dead.”

“ _I_ wouldn’t be.”

Hakuryuu blinks, turning his gaze to the headboard. “Then,” he says, “I guess we’ll conquer the world.”


End file.
